6 Reasons Why We Love Living in Munich

Oktoberfest is coming up which means from mid-September Munich will attract over 6 million thirsty fans. However, the huge festival is not the (only) reason to fall in love with this city.According to Mercer’s Quality of Living Reports released in March, Munich ranks 4th as one of the most liveable cities in the world. Basing our headquarters here, we Stylighters are in the best position to agree that this city is truly awesome.Together we complied 6 reasons to explain exactly why we love living in Munich. So, grab yourself a Stein, slip into your Lederhosen and read on to find out more about one of the greatest cities in Germany!

Special thanks for the kind insights from Philipp von Plato and Malte Zeeck, founders of InterNations – the world’s largest network for expats and whose headquarters just so happen to be in Munich.

Reason 1: Economy & Start-up scene

Rich and attractive. During the last ten years, Munich has been able to proudly confirm to have become the birthplace of some of the most successful and innovative startups and tech companies. And renowned data prove it: the European Commission report rated Europe’s “ICT Poles of Excellence” using factors such as R&D, Innovation and Business activities, and proclaimed Munich the top performing region. Munich is THE European innovation hub right now! And venture capitalists are quick to follow: between january 2013 and september 2014 they invested in no less than 32 startups in Munich.

“Bavaria has the highest GDP growth rate and the lowest unemployment quota within Germany, and the Munich area is no exception” says Philipp. “When you hear about startups in Germany, you’ll probably think of Berlin, but that’s not the whole story. InterNations, for example, began as a Munich-based startup and has grown to become the largest network for expatriates in the world.”Stylight is another great example: established in Munich in 2008, Stylight has become Europe’s leading fashion aggregator operating at a global level.

Reason 2: International demography

With a population of 1.5 million, Munich is ranked third as one of the biggest cities in Germany, as well as one of the top ranking city for expatriates. According to muenchen.de, the proportion of foreign nationals – 24.6 percent – is the highest in Germany. About 37% come from the European Union, and as you can see in our chart below, in 2013 Munich counted over 9,000 French people, 7,000 Spanish and almost 25,000 Italians! And with such a diverse grouping of nationalities here at Stylight – it’s no wonder we’re helping towards those numbers!

Reason 3: Low crime rate

Munich is one of the safest cities in Europe which not only makes it a great place to live but also very secure. Philipp agrees: “Serious crimes accounted for less than 0.7% of local crime statistics in 2014. Of course, this doesn’t mean that nothing bad ever happens but still, it’s the kind of city where getting lost in the English Garden after midnight is more likely to provide you with a funny anecdote to tell at parties rather than a place in the police report.”

Reason 4: Ideal location & International airport

According to Monocle magazine “Munich’s motto could be ‘work hard and play outside’”, a mere 45 minutes on the Deutsche Bahn delivers skiing or an afternoon of sunbathing at Starnberger See.” But that’s not all – Munich is also very well connected. In 2014, no less than 39.7 million passengers took off from or landed in Munich, and our beloved Franz Josef airport was ranked 7th in passenger volume in European terms. The airport is just 30 mins from the centre and from there you can fly to just about anywhere in the world: 68 countries and a total of 240 destinations are regularly served from Munich. Great for business trips, worldwide conferences, holidays… and perfect for our international Stylighters who love to travel and visit their families!

Reason 5: Open city

Munich is somewhat of a traditional city, you could even call it conservative with its strong Catholic ties, although it might surprise you to hear that Munich is also a very open city. The Glockenbach area is a long-standing prominent gay area, with a huge selection of gay bars and cafes. Recently, they changed the red and green road crossing signs to either two women or two men holding hands! This week alone Munich has been applauded in international press for it’s positive and welcoming attitude towards the recent refugee crisis. With countless volunteers helping thousands of refugees, Munich has shown itself to be a kind and tolerant city.

Reason 6: (last but not least…) Oktoberfest

Like we said, Munich is not just about Oktoberfest… however we simply couldn’t leave it out of our top reasons! And Malte agrees: “Oktoberfest doesn’t need any explanations, except maybe for the fact that it actually starts in September”. Indeed, the numbers from 2014 speak for themselves:

If you are planning on attending Oktoberfest this year, make sure to read our beginner’s guide. And has our article convinced you to even stay (a little) longer? Then make sure to check our job offers right now, or come in for a little chat and we can tell you more about the many other reasons why you will love Munich!